Space Oddity
by Susan strong
Summary: Emmy Gonzalez wasn't entirely sure what to expect. One minute, she was doing a final check on the Enterprise before her maiden voyage, next, she's helping fight a vengeful Romulan. What else could possibly happen?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

* * *

Emmy Gonzalez came from a family of well known and very well respected mechanics. At least on her mother's side. Emmy's father wasn't exactly. . . .human. Idris Ladaea, Emmy's father, was known as a "Celestial." From what she'd been told, Celestials were ancient beings found in the very far corners of Space. Emmy had been told that there were three different factions when it came to Celestials—the Nomadics, the Traditional, and the Latter Days. Her father was a Nomadic, so when they came to Earth, it came as a bit of a shock when he fell in love with a human. Emmy's mother always said that, from what her father had said, Celestials only married within their own kind. But Emmy's parents never married, they only had a brief romance for one summer before Idris had to leave, only occasionally returning to Earth.

Emmy had met her father only four times in her life—once during Christmas when she was very little, once on her eighth birthday, once over the summer after her fifteenth birthday, and the last time was only a couple months ago. During those visits, she became increasingly withdrawn and hostile to him—she tried her best not to, but he was never really in her life, and she found it hard to trust him.

But, as Emmy always told herself, her father wasn't important.

She focused on the family business—being a mechanic. Emmy's mother, Helene, taught her everything she knew on how to be the best mechanic, just like everyone else in her family.

It was something she thoroughly enjoyed. And something she excelled at.

* * *

"Emory Elizabeth Ladaea-Gonzalez."

She sat across from Christopher Pike as he regarded her resume. Emmy had put a lot of time and effort into making it—she'd heard wind that, apparently, the Federation was in the works of building a new ship for Space travel—a friend of hers who worked for Starfleet said it was going to be called "the Enterprise." Emmy always had a fascination with Space and all the things that came with it.

But after hearing that a new ship was in the process of being built, Emmy wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to help build it.

"You have a very impressive history," Pike said, sounding a little impressed.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

"What makes you think we'd want you helping with the Enterprise?" Pike put down Emmy's resume and looked at her. He had to admit, her history with mechanics was _very_ impressive—she had knowledge on how to build engines for cars and other means of travel; she could take things apart and put them back together without any trouble at all.

Emmy tried for a professional smile. "I can help quicken the development." The look on Pike's face told her he wanted a more detailed explanation. "If there's anything wrong—something malfunctions or it wasn't properly put together—I can fix it within the next hour or so; I. . . ."

"Ms. Gonzalez, I know from your resume that you're an astounding mechanic," Pike said, carefully interrupting Emmy. "I've heard about your family, they're very good when it comes to fixing, but what is the _real_ reason you want to help with the Enterprise?"

A surprised look swept across Emmy's face. _Well, I wasn't expecting that,_ she thought.

"I want to help make something big," she said slowly, thinking over her words carefully. "I want to know my work can do more than just fix a few busted up cars."

Pike regarded Emmy closely before he nodded.

* * *

Emmy had gone back to her apartment, a feeling of disbelief and shock still bubbling through her body. Pike had given her the job, saying that, after performing an extensive background check and have the proper tests performed, she'd start working on the Enterprise as soon as possible.

 _I have to tell everyone about this!_ Emmy thought excitedly. Her family had been a bit skeptical when she told them her idea to work on the Enterprise, saying they didn't just let anyone in. But if there was one thing her family knew, it was that Emmy was stubborn—very stubborn. It, unfortunately, was something that ran in the Gonzalez family.

So, after nearly ripping her feet off trying to take off her shoes, Emmy quickly called her family to tell them to news.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sorry for the wait, I got sidetracked by responsibilities for a little while and my internet kind of acted up a little. But, if you liked this chapter, let me know; if you think it could use improvement, let me know. If there's anything you think I got wrong in this chapter, let me know and I'll try and fix it as quickly as possible.**

 **I own nothing in the Trek universe. All I own are my fillers and the coffee I drink.**

 **This will eventually be a Kirk/OC story, but don't expect any romances early on.**

 **Let me know if I get the characters wrong, if I get anything mixed up let me know. This is my first Trek story** — **I'm a fan of the franchise, but that doesn't mean I'll get everything down right off the bat.**

 **Anywho, I'll wrap this author's note up!**

 **Leave a kind and helpful review, please!**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

* * *

"Emmy? Is something wrong?"

The first person to answer Emmy's call was her stepfather, Victor. Despite the fact that Emmy's mother, Helene, still maintained a platonic relationship with Emmy's father, Idris, she ended up finding genuine romance with a man named Victor Callahan. Which, in the end, made Emmy the big sister of four brothers and one sister.

"Is Mom home?" Emmy exclaimed, nearly bouncing where she stood. She was still trying to understand how she managed to land a job helping build the Enterprise.

"Yeah," Victor said slowly, looking at his stepdaughter hesitantly. "Seriously, Em, is there something wrong?"

"Just get her, I'll explain it then." Once Victor was out of the shot, Emmy bit her bottom lip to suppress the dopey grin that wanted to spread across her face. By the time Victor and her mother came back, there were questions spewing out before Emmy could even open her mouth.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Helene cried. "Victor said you have something to tell us? Did something go wrong at the interview? What is it?"

"That's what I'm here about." Emmy smiled. "I got the job!"

Victor and Helene didn't say anything for a minute, just stared at Emmy for a moment.

"You got the job?" Helene asked. Emmy nodded. Helene's face paled for a split second before lighting up, grabbing Victor's arm and shaking him. "You got the job! Wait until the others hear about this!"

Emmy laughed. "You guys thought I wouldn't even get the job," she exclaimed.

"Well you did something right," Victor said, a proud smile on his face. "Congratulations, Em."

"Where's everyone else, though?" Emmy asked, her brows furrowing.

"My parents'," Victor said. "They got out of school a little early today."

Emmy nodded. While she got along with Victor fairly well, her stepgrandparents were a different story. Victor's parents, Therese and Mickey, didn't really share the special kind of grandparent-like bond with Emmy as they did with her half siblings. Therese was very open with her disdain with Emmy being only _half_ human and Mickey was just a bitter old man to those he didn't really care for—Emmy being one of those people.

Helene's family, on the other hand, could really care less about who Helene ended up with, they treated everyone equally, unless they had a valid reason to not like someone. That was the main thing that separated Helene's family from Victor's. Victor's family was more on humans being with humans, none of the whole humans being with aliens stuff that was so common in their day and age. Helene's family would say that as long as whoever you're with makes you happy, it shouldn't be an issue on what they are.

"Once they're home call me," Emmy exclaimed. "This is important!"

"You're damn right it's important," Helene said firmly. "But you're coming over tonight to tell them yourself."

"But I just got home," she whined.

"And?" Helene crossed her arms over her chest. "If you're _this_ excited to tell everyone, you should be _here_ to _tell it_."

Emmy's eyes narrowed. She wasn't really upset at the suggestion her mother made, only a little irritated. Her family lived in the next town over, which was about an hour and a half drive if the traffic was feeling merciful.

"Mom, a call isn't going to hurt anybody," Emmy said drily. "Besides, I'm not up to dealing with traffic."

Helene sighed, looking at Victor, almost pleading for him to say something. Helene had her stubborn moments—everyone who knew her would agree—but there were moments where even she knew when to stop.

"If she doesn't want to come over, we can't force her," Victor said. He turned and looked at Emmy. "We'll call you once everyone's home, OK?"

"Thanks, Vic."

After they hung up, Emmy sat down and let out a sigh.

 _You're going to be helping build the Enterprise,_ she thought. A wave of disbelief swirled inside of her. _I don't even know how this happened, but I'm going to be doing something huge!_ Emmy swallowed thickly. She'd always been confident in her abilities, and she always would be confident in her abilities, but when she really took the time to process what happened, she felt a string of fear and anxiety inside her. What if she didn't do as well as she hoped? What if she missed something and ruined the whole production? She'd be fired on the spot.

 _How good would it be to put something like that on a resume?_ She chewed on her bottom lip. _'Fired from the Federation for destroying their newest form of Space travel'? Good luck with that._ Sharply shaking her head, Emmy tried dismissing the thoughts. She was going to stay positive and do her best to ensure everything went smoothly. Besides, how hard could it be?

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sorry for the short, possibly poorly-written, chapter. I've been having a long week of finals and trying to finish up this quarter at school and it's been mayhem. Anywho, here's the second chapter of the story, please tell me what you think. This is my first Trek story, so if you've got the patience to help me through it, I'd appreciate it greatly.**

 **I own nothing in the ST universe, all I own are my characters and the air conditioning in my home.**

 **Like I mentioned before, if you could help me through this story, I would love you for it! I'm a fan of the ST franchise, but it's something I can guarantee I won't get everything right. If you can correct me on any little mistakes I make, I'll try and fix it as quickly as I can. I'd also appreciate it if you could help me with the characters. I don't want to find out further down the line of this story I've been writing them incorrectly this entire time.**

 **Hopefully I can hear from you guys soon.**

 **Leave a kind and helpful review please.**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

* * *

By the time Emmy's parents had called back, her younger siblings were excitedly awaiting the news of what their older sister would be up to. By the time Emmy finished explaining it, they were thrilled, especially Emmy's youngest half brother, Ibrahim. Ibrahim always had a fascination with Space, something he and Emmy had in common, so he made sure that Emmy keep him posted on everything that went on with the Enterprise's construction.

Emmy was quick to tell him that she was only building it, not going on its maiden voyage.

"Well you should go on it!" Ibrahim exclaimed. "You know tons of things about Space!"

"Not enough to land a spot on its crew," Emmy said gently. Her seven year old brother had a stubbornness that almost mirrored their mother's, which was kind of scary. "I'm a mechanic, Abe, OK? I can tell you all the cool things that's going to be _on_ the Enterprise. Would that be OK?"

Letting out a sigh, Ibrahim crossed his arms over his chest and muttered under his breath.

Even though Emmy promised to at least give some information on the ship, she highly doubted she'd be able to tell anyone anything on it. Pike hadn't really gone over a lot of what was OK to talk about outside the Federation and what was expected to be kept down low. Emmy could only assume she could tell minor details.

Ending the call, Emmy let out a sigh. She certainly had a lot on her mind.

* * *

Even though Emmy had gone to bed early, she had received a call early in the morning saying that Pike wanted her in, that everything would be explained when she arrived. Half asleep, Emmy stumbled out of bed and attempted to dress as nicely—but also as casually—as possible. If Pike wanted her to start working on something—anything for that matter—she wasn't going to be wearing the nicest clothes she had in her closet _[given she hardly had any nice clothes in her closet]_.

Taking a minute to quickly down a cup of coffee she made herself and brush her teeth, Emmy managed to get out the door and drive all the way to the destination she'd been given only half an hour after receiving the call.

"You called me in, sir?" she said, stifling a yawn. It was only six thirty in the morning, a time she wasn't entirely used to waking up at.

"I said that I'd like you working as soon as possible," Pike said. They were at a specialized area where the construction would be taking place. Emmy nodded. "I'll have you start now."

Emmy opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

"I'll be overlooking your progress for the next couple of weeks," he said. "Consider this your probation period."

"R-Right, sir," she stammered.

"You don't need to keep calling me _sir_." Pike smiled at Emmy.

"Uhm, then what _should_ I call you?"

His smiled broadened for a moment. " _Mr. Pike_ for now," he said. "Now get to work. I want to see this Gonzalez engineering I've heard so much about."

Jumping, Emmy hurried over to where the others were and immediately dove into what she could.

* * *

Christopher watched Emmy as she worked. She didn't need any instruction from the other workers—maybe a little instruction, just to look over their work for a brief moment—Emmy quickly adapted to the situation and started her work like she'd been doing it her entire life. From where she was working, Christopher could tell she was finishing up some work on the Enterprise's engines.

That kind of work wasn't easy, and it didn't take just anybody to do it.

 _She really does have some potential,_ he thought, watching as Emmy was finishing up one portion and starting on another. _Maybe she can have a position as a mechanic on Starfleet._

After Emmy's departure from her interview, Pike had done a little more research into her background. She was half human, the identity of her father hadn't been documented. There were a few features on the young woman that indicated she wasn't entirely human—her eyes being on factor. Her eyes were a light shade of purple, a ring of a darker shade of purple near her pupils; her facial features held a certain exoticism to it. Other than that, she was human.

Her medical work—which Pike said would be done at that moment after he accepted her job offer—she did possess alien DNA in her blood, but it wasn't anything that could be picked up in their database of known alien species.

Walking over, Pike put a hand on Emmy's shoulder.

Looking up at him, a look of confusion and slight fear was on her face.

"I'm going to check on your work." Emmy nodded, hesitantly stepping back from what she was working on. While Pike carefully checked what she had done since coming in, he was impressed. Everything was put in the right place, everything seemed to be doing just fine. "Well, Ms. Gonzalez, I'm impressed," he said, smiling.

"You can call me Emory," she stammered, "or Emmy. Everyone I know calls me that. . . .Emmy."

"Emmy, I feel like you'll be a great addition to this project," Pike said.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey-yo, sorry for the short chapter, but here it is! Hopefully you guys like it. I tried keeping it as interesting as possible, but I don't really know. If you think I got Christopher Pike wrong in any way, let me know and I'll try and fix it to the best of my abilities. If I get any of the characters wrong, let me know and I'll hopefully get it right next time.**

 **Nothing in the ST franchise is mine. All I own are my characters and the music on my iPod.**

 **As a side note, though it happened a while back, the news of Anton Yelchin's death was something that was very shocking and very unexpected. To be completely honest, I thought it was some kind of sick internet prank until I kept seeing it pop up on various websites saying he actually died in a freak accident. Though I only saw Yelchin's acting in the** _Star Trek_ **reboot movies, I think he's a great actor and died, obviously, way too young [he was in his late twenties, I believe]. With the number of talented actors, singers, etc. dying this year, I wasn't really sure how to react when I heard about this.**

 **Anyway, I digress, though it'll still be something I can't believe actually happened.**

 **Leave a kind and helpful review, please.**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

* * *

The weeks soon began to go by and Emmy found herself out of probation before she knew it. Pike would occasionally drop by to inspect her work, to give her any kind of feedback he had, then let her go back to work.

Emmy found herself greatly enjoying the people she worked with, too. They were nice, supportive, and straight to the point. She'd try and keep her family updated on what she'd been doing, but knew better than to give too much away. She understood that the Federation had certain things that were meant to be secret from ordinary people—which she, for one, was—which was why they didn't inform her on anything above what she was supposed to be working on that day. So, instead of going into elaborate detail, Emmy told about how nice the people she worked with were, how fair and strict Christopher Pike was, and how the Enterprise was coming along nicely.

That didn't seem to go well with her brother, Ibrahim, who wanted to know _every_ _little_ _detail_ on the new Starfleet ship.

"Why can't you just say more?" Ibrahim exclaimed, pouting.

"Abe, you know I could get in trouble, right?" Emmy looked at the screen dryly. Her brother made sure to call every day at the same time, that way he could try and get as much time to talk to his sister as he could. "I can't afford to lose this job."

"They won't know, will they?" There was a mischievousness in Ibrahim's eyes that made Emmy arch a brow at him. "Can't you just tell me how big it is?"

"It's vey big."

"You're impossible sometimes."

"And you're just a kid," Emmy countered. "I can't go around telling you every little detail because if I do, you'll go and tell everyone about it."

"No I won't." Emmy gave her brother an extra dry look. "I don't go telling secrets like Ezra does!"

Ezra was Emmy's _other_ brother. He was more of a chatterbox, not being able to keep a secret for a little more than five minutes.

"I know Ezra's home with you, Abe." Emmy shook her head. "If he hears, he'll tell everyone. You'll get too excited with the things I'll say and accidentally let something slip."

"That's not fair, Emmy!" Ibrahim cried. "You can't do this!"

"Actually, I can," Emmy said pointedly. "My job's at stake. I'm not risking it. I'm telling you guys what I _know_ I can. Isn't that good enough?"

"Ibrahim!" their mother called, her voice sounding distant. "It's time for bed, c'mon!"

"You'd better go," Emmy said. Ibrahim's gaze went downward. "Listen, Abe, I'll try and do the best I can with what I can say, OK? I don't want you to be upset."

"Fine," he sighed.

"Tell everyone I said goodnight, OK?" she asked. Ibrahim nodded. "Love you, little guy."

* * *

That night, Emmy laid in her bed and stared exhaustedly at her ceiling. Some nights she found it increasingly more difficult to sleep than others. It wasn't that she _always_ had trouble sleeping, it was only a few nights when the restlessness happened. Emmy tried brushing it off as maybe she wasn't as tired as she thought, despite a long day at work.

Sighing, Emmy ran her hands over her face in slight irritation.

 _What's the problem? There's nothing going on for you to worry about. Why're you suddenly having trouble sleeping?_

Pulling her blankets a little further over her, Emmy tried getting herself as comfortable as possible. She had to get up early for work, and if she stayed up all night with pointless worries she couldn't even figure out, then her work would end up being sloppy.

 _Can't have Pike thinking you've got something wrong with you,_ she thought tiredly. _He might let you go if something doesn't turn out right. You can't risk something like that happening, Emmy. You've worked hard to get to this point!_

Looking at her clock, the neon numbers showed it was a little after midnight. It wasn't _too_ late, but still late in Emmy's book.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Emmy pulled the covers over her head. Something was bothering her, and she couldn't figure out _why_!

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey-yo, everybody! Sorry for the short chapter, but here it is! If you've got any ideas on how the story could be improved, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? If I'm getting any of the movie's main characters wrong, please let me know beforehand. It'd suck if I found out way down the road that I've been writing the characters wrong the whole time. So please, spare me the embarrassment of possibly writing the main movie characters wrong and just let me know.**

 **I own nothing in the ST universe. All I own are my characters and the fireworks I bought.**

 **As a side note, have a safe Fourth of July to anyone who's celebrating it tomorrow! I hope you all have a wonderful, and safe, celebration with your friends and family.**

TomFoolery: _Sorry it took so long to get back to your question, but Emmy could be seen as a civilian mechanic. Her mother's family came from a long line of very well known mechanics, and I've been thinking about going a little more into her mother's family's background, but I wasn't entirely sure yet. Hopefully that made sense? Let me know what you think!_

jeffhardyluvsme: _Hopefully this story is still piquing your interest. Thank you greatly for your review and I really hope I get to hear from you soon._

 **Thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story.**

 **Leave a kind and helpful review, please!**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


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